Grand One 2026
Somepresenssi
Visit Finland:
Real vibes, real sauna, real Finland
How we got millions of people around the world curious about an odd Nordic country by posting different kind of travel videos videos.
The Challenge
Selling Finland as a holiday destination takes serious sisu. In a world of over-saturated, high-gloss travel content, Finland has often been the quiet outsider. While our competitors lean on cinematic fjords, mountains, and meatballs, Finland offers something more raw: unpredictable weather, wonderfully modest people, and a definition of luxury that involves sitting in a hot room.
And eventhough Visit Finland had already built a strong social media foundation, we saw an opportunity to evolve. Our goal was to take Visit Finland’s social presence to the next level by making the content feel more authentic, informative and tailor-made for each platform.
In short, we set out to answer the traveler's ultimate question: How to make Finland the Nordic destination that speaks to me the most?
The Idea: Real Finland
The heart of our work was the "Real Finland" concept: a warm and honest creative umbrella designed to redefine Finland’s global personality for the digital age.
From this concept, we developed our primary creative driver: the "Real Finland" video series.
These videos (e.g., "This is a real sauna," "This is a real mökki") used deadpan delivery and a modest "Rally English" accent to explain Finnish culture with 100 % honesty.
And the results followed.
Since Visit Finland’s strategy relies almost entirely on organic reach, our content had to earn its place in the feed every single day.
By working with the specific nature of each platform, we drove organic growth through content that people didn't just scroll past: they actively commented on, saved, and shared it.
The result was a level of organic engagement that redefined what a national tourism brand can achieve.
The Execution
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We continued to develop the existing UGC (User Generated Content) style, and added a more personal layer. By introducing new creators and "regular faces," we moved the channel even more towards a human, community-driven presence.
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Instagram: We shifted the focus heavily toward Reels, prioritizing short-form, unpolished storytelling that felt personal - the specific type of content that the current algorithm is designed to reward.
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Facebook: We set out to reactivate a dormant algorithm. By increasing posting frequency and leaning into high-engagement topics regarding Finnish quirks, the impact was immediate: in just one month, total organic engagement grew from an average of 3,000 to over 40,000.
The Most Important Thing: We beat Sweden
The ultimate test for our "Real Finland" strategy came during the height of Eurovision season. When Sweden’s entry, “Bara bada bastu”, started trending, we knew we couldn't let our neighbors define what a sauna is.
So we filmed a deadpan response to reclaim our culture: "This is a REAL Sauna."
The results speak for themselves:
Immediate Impact: In the first week, the video reached 3.6 million+ organic views and brought in 3,000+ new followers on TikTok.
Long-term Dominance: To date, the video has reached over 17 million total impressions across TikTok (6.2M), Instagram (9.5M), and Facebook (1.5M). All without any ad spend.
Deep Engagement: More than just views, to date the video has sparked a massive wave of interaction with almost 300,000 likes, 6,300 comments, and 25,000 saves & shares across channels.
Search Authority: Today, over 50% of the videos traffic on TikTok comes through search. The video has transitioned from a viral moment into an authoritative search destination, becoming the answer for anyone looking to understand sauna.
The Results:
Torilla Tavataan
65.1M
Organic Impressions
(+114%)
51.1M
Total Organic Reach
(+97%)
+4,1 %
Overall Engagement Rate
(Travel Industry avg: 2,1 %.
Source: Hootsuite)
+260 %
Facebook Total Engagement
(2024: 109K engagements vs. 2025: 393K engagements)
1.5M+
Active Community Actions
(Likes, Comments, Shares,
and Saves)
9,5s
Average Watch Time
(Across all channels)
Unprecedented organic dominance
By leading with authenticity and a channel-specific strategy, we achieved massive organic success, resulting in 65.1M organic impressions (+114%) and a total reach of 51.1M (+97%).
Our 1.5M+ active community actions prove that our content sparked genuine connection rather than passive scrolling.
This approach yielded an overall engagement rate of 4.1%, and we are particularly proud of driving a +260% increase in Facebook total engagement. This was achieved in a channel notoriously difficult for organic brand content, simply by adapting our communication style.
On TikTok, in addition to multiple viral hits, we transitioned to a useful search destination. Today, over half of the views on our key content come from direct searches, meaning people are actively looking for information about Finland through our channel.
Se on siinä. Suomi mainittu.